It's A Crying Shame - The Lottery Ticket

It had been just another typical weekend day for Chuck as he walked out his front door headed for what had become his Saturday evening routine. The first stop was at the local convenience store on the corner of Wexford Dr. and Elon St. where he would purchase a single Lottery ticket and then straight down the road to Mr. Wong’s, his favorite Chinese restaurant. On this particular Saturday however, there were two things that Chuck would be doing differently. First on his mind was to try the new entrée that Mr. Wong had just added to the menu last week, Tangy Chicken with Cashew Nuts; a departure from what he would usually order, Orange Chicken or Sweet and Sour Pork. The second thing Chuck would be doing out of his ordinary routine was to play six totally different numbers in the Lottery. You see, for years he had always played the same number combination which was a variation of his Social Security Number hoping to win the big payoff. Of course with his luck, he had never won a dime.

It was just the week before while eating at Mr. Wong’s that Chuck had noticed the fortune from his fortune cookie that stated, “Play these Lottery numbers in the near future for a guaranteed win”, it then listed six numbers. Chuck had decided to do just that, after all what had his number combination ever won for him, nothing. So with his newly purchased Lottery ticket in his pocket and a very satisfying dish of Tangy Chicken with Cashew Nuts under his belt, Chuck went home to wait for the Lottery drawing that would take place later that evening.

The clock on the wall was saying that the Lottery drawing was about to begin as Chuck was already sitting in front of the TV with ticket in hand. As the numbers were drawn one by one Chuck sat there dumbfounded and in disbelief of what he was witnessing. And as the last number was drawn he realized that every number in his usual combination, which he had faithfully played for years, were the numbers staring at him on his TV set. “What have I done to deserve this kind of bad luck” Chuck scream loudly. If I had played my usual numbers I would have won a jackpot of 86 million dollars. With head in hand he vowed never to play the Lottery again. He threw the ticket with the numbers that he got from the fortune cookie on the table and plodded off to bed still in a state of total disbelief.

A week had passed since the painful Lottery ordeal and Chuck had remained true to his vow of never playing the Lottery again. Bypassing the convenience store this Saturday evening, it was straight to Mr. Wong’s for an old favorite, an Orange Chicken dinner with an extra egg roll and a pot of green tea. As always after he finished his meal, Chuck broke open his fortune cookie to see what it might tell him of his upcoming future. It read; “Do not overlook financial advice when it comes to you”. Chuck would have laughed if it had not been so utterly untrue in his case.

Once back home, he turned on the TV where it just so happened the Lottery drawing was just beginning. As the numbers began to pop up something looked very familiar. Grabbing last week’s ticket still lying on the table he started matching it with the numbers he was viewing on his TV. How could this be? The fortune cookie numbers he had played the week before were the winning combo for this week’s Lottery drawing. As he sat there in shock, Chuck just muttered to himself; “what a shame, just a crying shame”.